Culture
The Collapse of Journalism and the Threat to Democracy
Reporters used to report, now there’s virtually no line between media and the national security state. Veteran international journalist Patrick Lawrence on this show notes the big change occurred 9/11; since then we have been subject to an information monoculture.
White Supremacy And A Place You’ve Never Been
The new book is Imagining the Heartland; White Supremacy and the American Midwest and it’s about the powerful roots of today’s angry violence against The Others. On this show anthropologist authors Britt Halvorson and Joshua Reno look at the use
The High Price of American Exceptionalism on the Earth
Politicians of both parties buy into American Exceptionalism. But what does it mean to the planet? On this show professor Aviva Chomsky sheds light on the aspects of exceptionalism we don’t want to see. Instead of a good life just
Being Gay, Brown, and Immigrant
Even in safe spaces for gay men, there is subtle racism and stratification if one is not white. On this show, Professor Anthony Ocampo talks about his new book Brown and Gay in LA, including pressures from Mexican and Filipino
Why Do Americans Buy So Much Stuff?
A consumers republic was born at the end of the second world war. And though it was genuinely intended to be a tide lifting all boats, it has increased economic inequality and created isolation where public space once was central.
As Schools Open Again: The Moms for Liberty Nightmare
It’s almost time for the start of schools. Of course all parents want to protect their children from inappropriate material. But when “parental rights” mean teachers are forbidden from mentioning homosexuality or racism because that means teachers are “grooming” kids
Nuclear Power is Racist, Sexist, and Ageist: You Gotta Listen
The comfort of colonial powers relied on them not seeing the damage to exploited nations. So it is with mining and milling the uranium for nuclear power. Victims then as now are people without power, indigenous populations which are health
Feminist Prejudice Against Women in Hijabs?
Do liberal women feel that their culture is superior? Among women who feel liberated, what is it about the sight of Muslim women in traditional hijabs that so bothers many? In her new book Unruly Women; Race, Neocolonialism, and the
“As If We Were Trash.” A Woman’s Memoir of Prison
The intent is humiliation, eating away at one’s humanity. How can that make one a better person? Former figure skater Keri Blakinger’s new book Corrections In Ink tells the story from the inside and asks: does locking up groups of
Sex Classifications Are There to Serve The State
In theory, the state in a republic serves its citizens. Traditional conservatives insist they want government out of such things as sex. Our guest today Professor Paisley Currah in his new book Sex is as Sex Does, Governing Transgender Identity
We Know the Religious Right: Where is the Christian Left?
Though the angry white supremacist right grabs today’s news, the truth is the Christian Left has much deeper roots in American history. According to the Reverend Quadricos Bernard Driskell, the religious left has always been part of the fabric of
The Queen and BoJo: The UK From Here
A glorious celebration of a great state symbol: the Queen, who’s been through so much in her 70 year reign. Nostalgia for an imperial glorious past only goes so far. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was booed by his own party
Sister Resisters
Rather than just keeping one’s head down and staying safe, addressing that which is uncomfortable can bring new insight and a more complete sense of being. The often rigid structure of colleges is not enough, mentoring: listening, respecting is a
Like it or Not:The Emerging Post-American, Non-West Order
Here we are well into the 21st century and we’re stuck on imperialism, a 19th century western idea. Meanwhile a new non-western, non-American, nonaligned world is emerging. And perhaps it’s a very good thing. On this show international journalist Patrick
The Unique Success From Undoing Intentional Invisibility
Divide and rule. It’s worked quite well for many decades. When sectors of America are made invisible, behind walls, it takes away the power of democracy. In their new book Standing Up, Tales of Struggle, authors Ellen Bravo and Larry
Simplistic Binary Genders is Oppressive Cultural Fortification
“‘Opposite sex’ is a phantom concept—nobody lives it.” So says our guest author Kathryn Bond Stockton. Her new book Gender(s) argues that what seem like obvious genital distinctions are in reality incomplete. When children are born, it’s like parents “lower
Horror and Absurdity: Revisiting Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five
One generation held the book and the author in reverence. And with Tom Roston’s new book The Writer’s Crusade and the Many Lives of Slaughterhouse Five a new generation is discovering the unique importance of Vonnegut’s vision or war and
The Supply Chain Debacle Explained
The break in the supply chain feels sudden but it’s been building for some 50 years. And our guest American Prospect Executive Editor David Dayen explains in an special edition of the magazine: “None of the private players involved have
Why Americans Buy So Much Stuff.
A consumers republic was born at the end of the second world war. And though it was genuinely intended to be a tide lifting all boats, it has increased economic inequality and created isolation where public space once was central.
Josh Hawley And The Republican Obsession with Manliness
He voted against one thing that can actually address what he says is the problem. Where once men felt pride in what they contributed to family and community as sole breadwinners, that is gone. The anxiety is real. In her
News Media: Commodity or Public Good?
Distrust of the press is hardly a new phenomenon. In the 1920s two American literary luminaries shared a concern about bias in the press. But they offered widely divergent reasons and ways to correct the unfairness. Upton Sinclair insisted the
Don’t Fight Tribalism, Embrace It
One hears a cry for “unity” today, but though America is one country, we have always been actually many nations. On this show, author Louis Salome talks about places like Afghanistan, the other “stans,” Iraq, and other countries whose borders
How TV, Movies, and Social Media Maintain Invisible Sexism
Unless it’s a spectacle, we don’t see it on screens. But as our guest author Andrea Press spells out in her new co-authored book Media-Ready Feminism and Everyday Sexism, everyday sexism is just accepted. The Me Too movement originated in
Simplistic Binary Genders is Cultural Fortification and Wrong
“‘Opposite sex’ is a phantom concept—nobody lives it.” So says our guest author Kathryn Bond Stockton. Her new book Gender(s) argues that what seem like obvious genital distinctions are in reality incomplete. When children are born, it’s like parents “lower
Violent Authoritarianism: How Did This Become the GOP?
Pat Buchanan was ahead of his time. He used the KKK’s David Duke to breed a new nativist religious nationalism, based on fear of liberalization. On this show political science professor Joseph Lowndes sheds light on how the Republican Party
Why the Fear of Trans Troops in the Military?
How can one have optimum performance at your job when you have to hide your identity? There was fear of disruption by having openly trans troops in our military. But the truth is the only disruption was from people in
Pervasive Yet Invisible White Christian Privilege
It’s been normalized. Americans who are neither Christian nor white may not necessarily feel open discrimination, but privilege underlies everyday life. The starting point is not neutral, as we’d prefer to believe. On this show Dr. Kyati Y Joshi talks
Decolonize Philanthropy: What Does That Mean?
Philanthropies came into being to launder a plutocrat’s reputation. It’s become an industry today whose goal is preserving great wealth and maintaining dominance and control. According to our guest Edgar Villanueva, philanthropy has to be more than a wealth building
Plagues and Extremism: The Perfect Storm
The assault on science and reason:we’ve seen it before. In the plagues of the 1300s and in 1918, as well as Covid-19, fear and uncertainty combine to draw out extremism. On this show professor of history at Messiah University (an
The Biggest, Most Inhuman Power in America: Amazon
The dehumanized Amazon warehouse as pictured in the movie Nomadland is more benign than reality. There is an “existential bleakness” where every instant is being watched, humans serve robots, and one can be fired by algorithm. In his powerful new